Drones attacked port and oil refinery in Tuapse: massive fire. VIDEO
On the night of 20 April, drones attacked a seaport and an oil refinery in Tuapse, in the Krasnodar Krai region of the Russian Federation. A major fire broke out at the site of the attack.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing Russian Telegram channels, the region’s governor Veniamin Kondratyev, and the monitoring channel Exilenova+.
According to eyewitnesses, explosions were heard in the city, after which a fire broke out at the port and the oil refinery. At the same time, temporary restrictions on aircraft take-offs and landings were introduced at Krasnodar and Gelendzhik airports.
Later, the governor of the Krasnodar Region reported that, according to preliminary data, one person had been killed and another injured as a result of the attack. Damage to a gas pipeline and shattered windows in a number of buildings were also reported.
According to ASTRA, a massive fire engulfed the tank farm at the Tuapse oil refinery — the blaze spread to at least 11 separate areas.
On the night of the attack, residents of Tuapse also reported strikes on the seaport.
What is known about the Tuapse Oil Refinery?
The Tuapse Oil Refinery (Tuapse Oil Processing Plant) is one of the key oil refining facilities in southern Russia, in the Krasnodar Krai, on the Black Sea coast.
The plant is part of the Russian state-owned company "Rosneft" and operates as a large export-oriented refinery linked to the seaport terminal in Tuapse. This allows petroleum products to be loaded directly onto tankers for export.
In terms of scale, it is one of the largest refineries in the Russian Federation — its capacity is estimated at approximately 10–12 million tonnes of crude oil per year. The plant produces petrol, diesel fuel, fuel oil and feedstock for the petrochemical industry, and plays a vital role in supplying the domestic market and exports.
2024
- 25 January 2024 – first major drone attack: fire at the primary processing unit, partial shutdown of the plant.
- 17 May 2024 – a massive attack on Tuapse: the refinery and port were hit, and operations were temporarily halted.
- July 2024 – another strike, fire on the plant premises (localised damage to infrastructure).
- Late 2024 – repeated attacks were recorded, resulting in temporary shutdowns of individual units.
2025
- 14 March 2025 – drone strike, fire at the refinery, shutdown of some units.
- 1–2 November 2025 – attack on port/loading infrastructure, fire at the terminal serving the refinery; suspension of shipments.
- November 2025 (mentioned in reports) – another strike on the complex’s facilities, suspension of exports.
2026
- January 2026 – damage to the Tuapse refinery’s loading terminal (a key part of exports) confirmed.
- On the night of 16 April, a drone attack was recorded in the Russian city of Tuapse (Krasnodar Krai) – the refinery was once again targeted.
